MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12444, 6 March 1906, Page 9

MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE. THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. The annual Conference of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association opened in tho Provincial Council Chamber last night. There was a good attendance of members and their friands x including a number of ladies. Amongst the visitor** were Mr Justice.Denniston, Bishop Grimes, and Archdeacon AvoniL ■'.-■. THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. The President thanked the members of the branch tor tho honour they had conferred upon him in electing him as their president tor thus ytsur. On behalf of the members of the Canterbury division he extended a hearty welcome to all visiting members of the profession who haa come to attend the Congress. The general public, be _ua, might possibly wonder what good tnese Congra—«s aid, or, indeeu, wnat good tne -u-ociauon as a whole aid. it must be -diuittc- that the __*?moung 01 so many mocucal men troni cutter*-1, parts ot tuo colony must, in the lata p_joe, establish an intimacy and a Uona 01 irifcuuship throughout the prot'e«_ic-, by bringing niemborti together who, except tor t_K_e meetings*, might know eacn other only by name. _ecoadly, ttfie papons lead and tha subjects ai-cussed must help to advance their knowledge i and keep -horn alive to the prog-rws taKing place in both inediciae and surgery. 'Ahoy were a useful incentive to members, v eucn were needed, to keep themeelves in touch with the tunes ami tainuiar with the best modem methods of their art. Thirdly, tuey facilitated combined organisation 01 the several _iv_aot_, ana were useful in .helping member- to w_toh and guard the interests of the prokession, both as regarc- legislative measures and otherwise. Lastly, but not least, tbe public derived material benefits as tbe outcome ofthediscuiSs'ons in regard to what measures should be advocated or taken to further safeguard tho public health. Poatdbly they wero aware that it is mainly, it not entirely, owing to the persistent efforts of -ue .New Zealand __edical A_-oci-t_on, which for the last few years had become tho New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association,- that they now had such measures as the inspection of n_aat and of dairies, public abattoirs, the ur-ining of nurses in hospitals and the granting of certincates to Buch nurses aiter they had completed a three years' course and pa-ased certain' e_a*r___uo_», the substitution of sealed pans for the old-fashioned and offensive open ones in the removal of where the pan system had perforce still to remain in existence; and it was even passible that the whole Health Department with its medical oi-oars and inspectors, might reasonably be included in the category. Lastly, there was the crusade against consumption. There were many other measures now in vogue, which had their origin in the Association, but surely even these which he had mentioned were sufficient to juetify its existence, and to ear_ it some graititude from the colony at large. They did not claim that those measures had been made law by the Association, but they could claim that they were first brought under the notice of the Govexnmeut and the various local bodies' by them, and the desirability and necessity of their being adopted, again and again urged upon them. The Department of Public Health, with zta able staff of medical officers, would probably for the future, aa it had done since its initiation, relieve the Association of much of the responsibility of urging sanitary reforms' upon the public. THE PROFESSION. The amending and improving of the New .Zealand Medical Registration Act waa an object -which the A-sedation had for.the last- twenty years made periodical, attempts to attain, and he had to congratulate alike the Government, the proteasionpand the public on-what had bee— 'accomplished. He congratulated the' Government because the passing of that Act showed that it was now alive to its duty of safeguarding .the public weaf and seeing that no inefficiently-trai-ed practitioners were foisted upon the colony. Moreover, it was proud of its reputation for passing legislation of _- progressive character, but in respect to «_-Act dealing with medical regisrtn__o_they had hitherto been sodiy behind the times. To the profession its effects would be most benefioiai in limiting' admi-sion to' its ranks. to properly trained members, and to the public it would be a guarantee for the future that any names added to the register would be those of members so trained. The thanks of the whole profession were due to those members who had so untiringly worked to have that amending Aoi passed. He also referred in that respect 4to Dr. Gore- Gillon, who brought up the subject again at the Auckland Congress, and worked for it ■with, great; vigour, to Dr. Robertson, Bresident8 resident of the Association, to Dr. ioilins, ► chairman of the - Council, and to the Parliamentary Committee and the secretary. Indeed, it -was safe bo say that had it not been' for the labours of,those gentlemen, and the interest and watchful cafe they exercised in. the matter prior to, and while it was before the House, the. B_l would not have been passed. Nor should they forget that Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Publfc trj ut. -i„-_i. it.- :_— — _.:- --.—-^.^ But it seemed to him that tho past president, Dr. Robertson, struck tho keynote, when he said that "want of organisation on the part of medioal men had been the cause of our failure in the past in not getting the Bill throufih before." •and -that view was corroborated by the statement of Dr. Mason, Chief Health Officer, who said that "when the Kill was brought up before the Houso on a previous session there wero 126 telegrams to the Minister against'the measure, hut not a single medical man sent -.communication in its favour." Ob-; viously that occurred through lack of organisation more than through want of Interest. If they might take the vicissitudes of. that Registration Act as an example, surely no stronger argument was hWded to show that it was the duty of every registered practitioner in the colony to be a member of the Now Zealand branch of the British Medical Association ; .otherwise organisation was incomplete, and he seemed to the speaker to be very much in the position of on elector.who had lest his vote through not .taking tho trouble to see that his name was on the rolls. TUBERCULOSIS. It was a matter for congratulation that the public, as well as the profession, had realised the fact that tuberculosis, in its various forms, was a disease for which much might be done, both by.curative and preventive measures. When they considered the enormous toll it levied yearly on the population, both in lives and money, they must recognise that no efforts should be spared to deal with it as soon as possible. Fortunately such efforts wero now being made, as in some of the other centres sanatoria had already been opened to cope with tho disease, and in Canterbury he hoped ere long they would have a Sanitorium which would be - credit to the province, and would take over the patients from Nurse Maude's Camp. Thanks to the generosity, and liberality of Mr John Cracroft Wilson and the trustees of the Cashmere Estate, who had given a site, with;some twelve acres of ground, on the Port. Hills, tbe vexed question of situation had been set at rest. Abready a considerable sum of money had been collected for the buildings, but they sndly wanted more funds, and tho public might rely on members keeping them in mind of that fact till the institution

had been erected and thoroughly equip-, - _A3nTATION> In the day, * great -mount of attention was being paid to tho conservation and .promotion of the health of the individual and of the community. They were, in fact, getting to better understand and appreciate the laws of health. Good food, clothing,, and cleanliness had long been, recognised aa necessary for good health, whde fresh air and exercise had been regarded as very important; but people were becoming more aware of the value of sunshine, ventilation, and even of <■ rest. With regard to the latter, much ignorance or prejudice still prevailed! Tho careful housekeeper, who opens her windows two or three inches at the top every morning,. and shuts them just as carefully before night, while possibly the blinds had been down most of the day to keep out the sunlight, fondly imagined that she had done her duty to her family in tiie matter of ventilation. How many kept their windows open wide all day. and their blinds up. so as to admit all the fresh air possible? And how many kept their windows evehalf open at night, or, if open at ail Erobably blocked by a linen or calico' lind? Yet it was of the utmost importance that fresh air should circulate freely through a dwellinghouse, and more especially through the bedrooms. There were, of course, days when the dust fiend was too much in evidence, and must be kept out, and he feared that faded carpets would sometimes be urged as an excuse for keeping out the sunlight. As to rest, and by that term he did not refer to the ordinary rest in bed at night, but to prolonged rest for weakly, over-worked, or fagged-out individuals; it seemed in danger of being forgotten as a strengthening and curative agent in. these days of physical culture and the strenuous life. Everyone had heard of brain-fag, but at the risk of being called a faddist or of adding one more to the list of human ailments,' •he might say he believed there was also such a condition as heart-fag. Neither of those conditions was a disease in tho strict sense of tho word, though, if -neglected,/they might undoubtedly eventuate in that state. And when ho reflected on the numbers of rundown or tired-out people who resorted to the country or the seaside to recuperate, and, as a general, rule, with great benefit, he could also remember not a few who came back not so invigorated as they -had hoped to be. Possibly their holiday was not long enough, or they may even have' gone to a place where the air or other conditions were not suited to them; but he was Inclined to think that, in some instances, heart-fag was the cause of disappointment, and that had the holiday been begun by a few days' complete rest in bed, they would have derived double or treble the benefit. EXERCISE. With regard to exercise, we had now numerous healthy oufcrdoor games and pastimes which were immensely popular and freely indulged in by both sexes. The law also provided a goodly number of public holidays, which gave opportunities for indulging in those games or for making excursions into the country, while almost every town had its classes for- physical culture. Thoso things were all excellent in their way not carried to excefis, or pursued to the neglect of the more serious duties of life, and they must have an effect, not only on the health and physical development of the present generation, but also on that of posterity.

■Thirty or forty years ago, young ladies played croquet and lawn tennis, were taught dancing and oalisthenka at school, and were taken out walking bysome chaperon or relative, and there j exercise ended, except in the case of | the more fortunate, who would alao be | taught riding. Now it was customary | for a young girl to take her bicycle and bo off alone to -her. £»lf. tennis, hockey, or rowing club, or even for a spin of a few miles, showing that much of the restraint imposed upon girls thirty or forty years ago was a thing of the past, and that as much was now thought of the healthy physical development of the one-sax as of the other. That was a distinct!..step forward in. the iprooess of evolution*,'and might ho beneficial/providing that, at the'same time, domestic virtues did not become, a lost art. _ ______ INFANT LIFE. There was another subject relating to health in which the Government of the colony was now taking a deep interest, namely, tho preservation of infant life. It was a well-known fact that the mortality in infant, life was ■high, and.that a large proportion of such mortality was due to improper feeding, which* in its turn, might be. set down to ignorance on the part ot the parents. They-could scarcely wonder, at this ignorance either, when, they considered what a large proportion of girls, from the time they left school, went off to <** m their living as teachers, or in factories, shops, . and offices, having thus little or no tunity to learn much about the preparation of food.either for old or young. So that when they got married and a baby arrived they hardly knew what on earth to do with it. But the Government was determined that ignorance as regarded feeding should no longer be the cause of this high death rate, and to that end they had .prepared some leaflets, compiled from the writings of some of the best-known authorities on the subject in England and other counThose leaflets would give instructions how a child should be fed and nourished from its birth till it was eighteen mentis old, the period during which the heaviest mortality occurred, and would bo placed in the hands-of every mother when she registered the birth of her child. . Thus ignorance on that question, one of vital importance to the colony as; well as to the parents, would be gradually overcome. .; The methods of feeding described might not prove applicable in every case, and the mothers would still fail back on their medical advisers for further directiona but, on the whole, the general principles were good. TEETH. Another association had.sprung into existence within the last two years, and showed signs of great vitality; he referred to the Dental Association. . That body was now calling serious .public attention to the decay of children's teeth and the diseases and defects likely to be engendered by that cause. That subject could be safely left in their hands, and the Association .congratulated on its early activity. THE BIRTH RATE. It might be'said, therefore, that there was a general movement progressing in the way of improved sanitation and prevention of disease," on the one hand and, i» the direction of athleticism and the physical oulture of both sexes, on i the other, and, when they took - those I circumstances into" consideration,- and remembered also the advantages we in. New Zealand possessed in our tern-; perate, if somewhat erratic, climate; in the relative cheapness and abundance of good food.; in the. amount.of elbow? room 'or 'incrowded condition of-most of our towns; end in the excellence of our educational systems, both primary, and advanced, he thought they, must recognise that they were Jiving under most favoured conditions; that "Mens sana - in •corpore sano'' should be the. universal rr_e here— that our population should be healthy,' prosperous, and prolifio, and that" we possessed every natural advantage to enable us in time to earn for the colony the appellation which was sometimes used, "The Britain of the South.". That the physique of the colonists was < on the whole exceptionally good, ho thought, few would deny; nor could they be regarded otherwise than favourably from the intellect-—" or educational. standpoint. We were naturally behind older communities in regard to tho Arts—

but, even in th«-s, good progress was being made. Our' population therefore should increase rapidly, not simply by immigration, but tbe natural in_ro_» should be high. But-that was just where the high expectations raised by our favoured oondrtions were not fulfilled—wo had a comparatively low and gradually decreasing birth-rate. True, we were not! the only country where the same condition obtained, and where quite as much attention had been given to physical j development and sanitation as here. It j would seem that, among others,. Great j Britain and roost of her English-speak-ing color—e_- were more or leas affected the same way. On the other, hand, j they must not forget, that there werecountries where the natural increase i was in a much greater ratio than here, and who were in the ran of progress—-notably Germany, and our ally, Japan. It would seem, therefore,- that neither physical nor intellectual " training. could be set down aa the cause of this decline; and if they might judge by what occurred with the lower animals, healthy climatic conditions and surroundings were not the cause either. The British Empire was one of which all Britons were justly proud; but, if the Empire was to be maintained, we must rely, not simply on our Navy and Army, or on both, nor yet upon physique, but on numbers also. We in New Zealand were very fond of cutting up large estates, to promote settlement —let us remember that other nations might like to adopt our policy. It would be almost unreasonable to expect such nations, with rapidly increasing and overcrowded populations, not to look with jealous eyes on some of our more favoured colonial possessions with small and almost stationary populations; therefore, if we wished to hold these colonies, we must produce the men to defend them. That was a subject which the nation could not too seriously take to heart, and in our distant colonies it was of ■ vital importance. | The world had seen many changes. Other Empires had.oome and gone, and why not our own ? Our Navy and Army were, of course, necessary for our defence, but it depended far more upon the fathers and mothers—in -fact, upon the adult population, whether the Empire should be maintained or not, as guns would not protect us. without the men behind them.